Note: No matter which mind mapping application you're using, creating such type of professional grade maps comes with experience. Let's get started!
1. iMindMap - This is a commercial mind mapping solution ideal for professionals. It's perhaps the best software to brainstorm new ideas for your business. I've used it once at my friend's desk and found it extremely helpful in visualizing and exploding the thought chain spawning countless ideas in no time.You can create different types of mind maps through this application. Its 3D view of a mind map can help you easily analyze and understand a large and complex mind map. Easy export of mind map in different formats makes the distribution process much smoother compared to other similar solutions.
2. XMind: ZEN - No mind mapping software list can be tagged as complete unless you don't include this application in it. It's available for both Windows and Mac platforms. It comes with over 30 different themes one can use as per his preferences. Its rendering engine is written for speed and performance.
Once completed, a mind map can either be exported in a PDF format or can be saved directly to your Evernote account. Its smooth font rendering system gives you the same user experience across both the platforms. It has a distraction-free mode to help you build mind maps easily, without any disturbance.
3. MindMaple - This mind mapping software comes in two different flavors. The first version is made for touch-enabled Windows Surface devices powered by Windows 10. And, the second one is available for general devices running Mac OS or a Windows version. It has one of the best mapping user interfaces.
It enables you to attach both tasks and documents with mind map nodes to make it more useful and complete. It also supports the inclusion of hyperlinks, boundaries, and relationships within a mind map. One can also add clipart and images to the mind map. A wide range of export file formats is supported.
4. MindManager - This premium mind mapping application is built for busy professionals who want to get things done, quickly. It has a collection of pre-built mind map templates to help you get started in no time. Its minimal distraction-free immersive interface is best suited for large screens and monitors.
If you want to attach or embed various types of media hosted on popular external platforms, you can do it easily without leaving the application at all. One can export the mind map in HTML5 format. With full drag and drop support, even a beginner can quickly create fairly complex business mind maps, with ease.
5. MindGenius - As the name implies, this powerful mind mapping application is going to bring out the genius in you. This one too has pre-built templates one can use to speed up the mind map making process. The map explorer mode is an excellent way to quickly explore a part of a large mind map.
It also has a full-fledged task management system tightly integrated with the mind map module. Gantt views and task dependencies let you use this mind mapping app as a complete project management tool. It can also connect with all the popular cloud storage services. It's surely worth giving a try at least once.
6. iMindQ - This mind mapping solution is available for mobile as well as for the desktop platforms. It's best suited for professionals who frequently use interactive mind maps in their office presentations. The interface is top notch without any clutter. The web version of this mind mapping app is completely free.
With team collaboration features, a group of users can share, work on, and analyze a single mind map, quite easily. This is yet another application that provides a good number of mind map templates for power users. It also has Microsoft Office integration support out-of-the-box. Try its web version, once.
7. MindMeister - This web-based mind mapping tool offers both free and premium plans for its user base. Because it can work in every modern web browser, you can use it on every operating system. All the mind maps are stored securely in the cloud network so that you can easily access them from anywhere.
Apart from the classic mind map layout, it supports several other layout formats for better visualization of different types of maps. It also has several themes one can use to give a personal touch to the mind map. Multiple users can work on the same mind map, remotely, in real time. It's one of my favorite tools.
8. MindView - This mind mapping application has one of the best interfaces you'll love to use and explore. It's tightly integrated with Microsoft Office facilitating easy information flow from both the ends. Large teams can use it to efficiently power their project management system even if they're dispersed, globally.
Its shared workspace feature enables multiple users to edit and collaborate in real time. It also lets the administrator apply fine-tuned and granular access controls on mind map files in a multi-user environment. It has a very large user base testifying for its popularity. Freelancers must give it a try.
9. SmartDraw - One can experience the power of this mind mapping either as a web-based version or as a blazing fast native desktop application. It automatically formats the mind map allowing you to focus on the primary task of adding content to the right place. This makes it quite easy-to-use even for a layman.
Smart collaboration is baked right in the application along with the integration of popular cloud storage services. It's available in more than 100 different languages making it a truly multilingual application. It has a support for exporting the completed mind maps in different formats supported and used, globally.
10. Mind Vector - If you're a Mac user or prefer the light web-based version, then this mind mapping software is made just for you. It has a simple interface without an overwhelming number of options. Its web version stores all your mind maps in a secure cloud network. The free plan has 50MB storage space.
This application has a drag 'n' drop support which makes the addition of nodes in a mind map, a cakewalk. If your mind map requires more space while adding new nodes, the canvas expands automatically. All the nodes added in the mind map are completely expandable and collapsible.
11. Novamind - This professional-grade and powerful mind mapping application is made for both experienced and new users. Its intuitive and flexible interface enables users to create large mind maps easily and quickly. It has several mind map themes which can be applied instantly as per your need.
It has one of the most powerful presentation modes which works accurately both on small and large screens. Its free plan is powerful enough for most users. It has rich formatting support which is applied automatically as per the global settings. Within a single document, one can create multiple mind maps.
12. Coggle - This blazing-fast web-based mind mapping application is perfect for multiple users looking to collaborate on a single mind map from remote locations. Its powerful versioning system enables you to easily revert back to the previous state of the mind map. One can create complex mind maps with it.
In a single workspace, one can build multiple sections of the same mind map at the same time. Its free plan doesn't impose any restrictions on the number of images one can upload for a mind map. It also allows you to create both public and private mind maps. It has a large collection of custom icons too.
13. SimpleMind - This impressive mind mapping software enables you to create multiple mind maps in a single workspace. One can easily add different types of rich media to the mind map, quite easily. All the created mind maps can be synced to Dropbox or Google Drive. It offers several editions for the users.
One can also create templates to reuse them for quickly creating new mind maps. Both PDF and image export formats are supported out-of-the-box. Use of both custom and stock icons is available to enrich your map. Hyperlink embedding feature is also supported to diversify your professional mind map.
14. MindMup - One can create unlimited mind maps for free using this excellent application. PowerPoint and PDF export formats are supported by this mind mapping software. It has easy and flexible social sharing features to enable you to easily show your mind map to your friends network.
It also has collaboration support to enable a team to work on a mind map from different locations. Attachment support and rich media integration for nodes ensure you can add all the required information to the mind map. It has an excellent collection of map tutorials for all the new users.
15. Bubbl.us - No list will be complete unless this web-based mind mapping app is not included in it. The completed mind map created through this app can be easily saved as an image. Its easy one-click presentation mode enables even novices to showcase their saved mind map in a truly professional way.
Its rich and colorful mind map theme creates visually appealing ideas in no time. This app can work on any device and one can work on his mind map, while on the move too. I liked its clean and user-friendly interface. Mind maps can also be exported in HTML format to easily embed them in websites and blogs.
16. TheBrain - This is the ultimate brainstorming and idea-generation tool aimed at freelancers and professionals. One can create beautiful mind maps through this software. The map data can be saved both locally and online to enable its users to access the maps from anywhere and to share with friends.
It has a powerful file management system which also has a versioning support. It is further augmented with equally powerful search system to easily find the attached documents within a mind map. This mind mapping application can be used to create extremely large mind maps with loads of information.
17. MindMapper - This 2-in-1 application includes both a mind mapper and a planner. It can be tightly integrated with Google Calendar to take advantage of its features. It is available both for desktops and smartphones. One can create dozens of different types of mind maps through this handy application.
All the mind maps can be directly exported to Microsoft Office with a click of a button. It also has tag support enhanced with a filtering system to easily categorize and search existing collection of mind maps. If the mind map is getting too big, one can split it easily and quickly to create a new mind map.
18. Creately - This online mind mapping tool has hundreds of readymade templates enabling you to get started with almost any kind of mind map, instantly. Its one-click connect feature helps in building mind maps, quickly and easily. Collaboration management system is too quite easy-to-use and user-friendly.
It also has support for custom color palettes and custom themes though one can also use pre-built themes if required. One can also add comments and discussion threads to the nodes which come handy when a team is working on a large mind map. It also saves a complete revision history of the mind map.
19. MindNode - This simple yet feature-packed mind mapping application is made for Mac and iOS users. Its flexible layout system automatically arranges the mind map nodes in the best possible way no matter in which direction it is growing. Connection, detachment, and deletion of map nodes is simple.
Like other professional solutions, this one too offers custom themes and different layout styles. For analyzing a very large mind map, one can take advantage of the outline view to browse through the entire node paths, with ease. A wide range of export formats enables easy sharing of the mind maps.
20. Mindomo - This popular mind mapping software works on Linux, Mac, and Windows. It's aimed towards students and has a support to connect with several popular learning management systems. All the created mind maps can also be stored on several cloud storage services and that too, quite easily.
Power users can also take advantage of its FTP integration support. Apart from regular rich media files, recorded sound attachments can also be included in the mind map. Whenever required, an entire mind map can be easily converted to a slide-by-slide presentation. Large text notes can be added to the nodes.